Rajasthan Still Under Gurjar’s Agitation

Rajasthan is still under the Gurjar’s agitation due to which 26 trains have been diverted and 12 were cancelled. Other districts that are also under the influence of this protest are Dholpur,Bundi and others. Protestants have blocked the roads of many districts and till now 5 FIRs have been lodged.

Reason behind the agitation

Demands are:

• Need separate 5% quota or reservation under the special backward class category.
• To increase the creamy layer limit upto Rs. 8 lac per annum.
• To fill the backlog appointments.

Quick recap of the protest

• It was all started when in 2003 BJP government promised Gurjars, that they will classify them in ST(Scheduled Tribe) list of Rajasthan.
• This action got legal impediment when Rajasthan High court stayed the operation, saying that the said reservation is breaching the 50 per cent limit set by the Supreme court in Mandal’s case.
• It created the resentment among the community and they started protesting. Starting in 2010, again in 2018, it is still continuing.

Who are Gujjars?

• They are a pastoral agricultural community.
• They are scattered in India, Pakistan and northeast Afghanistan.
• They have their own language known as Gujari.
• In Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh they are categorized as ST ,while in rest of the country as OBC.

360 degree analysis of the protest

Economic Impact

• Destruction of infrastructure, delay in logistics are increasingly affecting the agricultural community.
• Chief crops grown by gurjars are wheat, maize and gram.Maize and wheat hold a large share in exports of India. The protest will in turn affect them.

Political Impact

• The protest is mainly due to the cynical vote seeking politics. This will result in the decline in public participation during elections.

Wastage of Human resources

Our valuable human resources are getting wasted in showing protest when their participation in economic activities could boost the development.

Solution

• False or invalid promises made by the political parties should come under the ambit of legal procedure. This will help in holding the faith of the people in democracy.
• Reservations should be based on SECC census. This could eliminate the enemity among the communities which is the biggest disadvantage of Indian diversity.